SRI LANKA: GSL HELPED KARUNA ENTER UK ON FALSE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 001526 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS AND CA/FPP LONDON FOR POL - R BELL E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/18/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PHUM MOPS CVIS CE SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: GSL HELPED KARUNA ENTER UK ON FALSE DIPLOMATIC PASSPORT REF: COLOMBO 1408 Classified By: Ambassador Robert O. Blake, Jr., for reasons 1.4(b,d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: UK High Commissioner Dominic Chilcott briefed Co-Chair Ambassadors on November 7 on the arrest of TMVP leader Karuna Amman for entering the UK on a false Sri Lankan diplomatic passport. Chilcott said there is no question that the GSL, with high-level authorization, knowingly issued a valid diplomatic passport to Karuna in a false identity. The UK government is weighing its options for dealing with Karuna, Chilcott said, and it is possible that he will be tried rather than simply released or deported to Sri Lanka. Meanwhile, Karuna's leadership rival Pillayan has been consolidating his position in the Karuna bastion of Batticaloa. Karuna's arrest and the revelation of the GSL's involvement in his illegal entry to the UK effectively removes any doubt about the close relationship between GSL security forces and the Karuna group. End Summary. ¶2. (C) UK High Commissioner Dominic Chilcott briefed Co-Chair Ambassadors on November 7 on the arrest of TMVP leader Karuna Amman last week for entering the UK illegally. Karuna entered the UK in September on a Sri Lankan diplomatic passport in the Sinhalese name of "Kokila Gunawardena" but with Karuna's photograph, he said. Gunawardena appears to have been a Sri Lankan soldier who was killed a few months ago. Karuna's visa application was accompanied by a diplomatic note from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs asking that Gunawardena be issued a visa to attend a climate change conference in the UK. ¶3. (C) Chilcott said there was no question that the GSL, with high-level authorization, knowingly issued a valid diplomatic passport to Karuna in the false identity. This follows earlier, unsuccessful efforts by the GSL to persuade the UK to offer sanctuary to Karuna, he noted. Chilcott stated that he has raised this issue with Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona since Karuna's arrest on November 2. The local press reports that Karuna was accompanied to planeside at Bandaranaike International Airport on September 18 by Airport and Aviation Deputy Chief Shalitha Wijesundera (who has refused to comment). Kohona publicly denied that the MFA would have recommended Karuna for a UK visa - but pointedly declined to deny that MFA had put forward the visa request under the name Gunawardena. ¶4. (C) Chilcott observed that the British Government has four options for dealing with Karuna. The UK can prosecute him for illegal entry, grant him POLITICAL asylum (which Karuna has applied for),prosecute him in the UK for torture committed in Sri Lanka, or release him and send him back to SriLanka. Under British law, UN conventions on torture provide grounds for trying him in the UK, Chilcott said. He apparently cannot be tried for war crimes committed outside the UK. Chilcott noted that Karuna's arrest has yet to generate significant POLITICAL or media attention in the UK. He thought it possible, if not likely, that the UK's overburdened judicial system will decide to release him. However, he indicated that recent pressure from human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, has made it somewhat more likely that Karuna will be tried on some charge. ¶5. (SBU) Meanwhile, rival TMVP leader Pillayan has been consolidating his position in the Batticaloa area, Karuna's support base. Local news reports over the last few days indicate that Pillayan, probably in response to news of Karuna's arrest in London, has stepped up efforts to take over TMVP offices in and around Batticaloa. TMVP cadre loyal to Karuna are being chased out of their offices, and there are reports that at least one took cyanide when confronted by COLOMBO 00001526 002 OF 002 Pillayan's men. TMVP spokesperson Azath Moulana has explained the events in Batticaloa as "shifts in administrative teams in the east." Tamilnet reports that Special Task Force police officers have been deployed in the area. ¶6. (C) COMMENT: Karuna's arrest and the subsequent revelation of the GSL's involvement in his illegal entry to the UK should remove any lingering doubts about the relationship between GSL security forces, Karuna, and the TMVP. It is unlikely that Pillayan could be making such gains, particularly in Batticaloa where support for Karuna is strongest, without GSL acquiescence. The GSL probably calculates that it can use Pillayan to help reinforce the East, particularly the Trincomalee area where Pillayan has the most support, against the reported reinfiltration of the area by LTTE cadres. Karuna's immigration problems, the GSL's involvement, and the UK's reaction will undoubtedly burden UK-Sri Lankan RELATIONS in the medium term. Post will closely monitor the issue and report any further developments. Post would also welcome Embassy London's perspective. BLAKE